1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to liquid dispensing apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for dispensing liquid adhesive.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known apparatus for dispensing a liquid adhesive for holding a plug in place inside a hollow, gas containing tube have included a reservoir having an open end and means for forcing the liquid adhesive past the open end. Typically, the open end of the reservoir is inserted into an end of the hollow tube and either the tube or reservoir is rotated as the liquid is being poured out to form an annular adhesive bead around an inside peripheral surface of the tube. The plug is then pushed into the open tube end where it is held in place by the adhesive. The adhesive and plug serve as a seal preventing the gas from escaping from the tube. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for known apparatus to dispense an unmetered amount of the adhesive to form a non-uniform annular adhesive bead that might present voids between the plug and tube inner wall. In addition, the manner of dispensing the adhesive permits the adhesive to flow onto an outside surface of the tube. Sometimes the gas in the tube escapes past the plug through the voids, and the adhesive on an outside tube surface manages to interfere with further handling of the tube.
Accordingly, it is desired to arrange an apparatus to dispense a metered quantity of liquid adhesive uniformly on a preferred surface of an article.